Lewis to take over MSUSBCBA presidency

@jimlahdeDave Lewis has been a promoter for the sport of bowling a good long time.

He bowls in four different leagues and has an exceptional average in each.

He writes a weekly bowling column for The Morning Sun that covers the comings and goings around the mid-Michigan area.

He’s also been active at both the local and state level as a member of the Michigan State USBCBA for years.

In short he knows everything there is to know about the sport of bowling and is constantly seeking out ways to better the game.

On August 1 Lewis will take over the presidency of the MSUSBCBA and his term will run through July 31, 2014. And, per usual, Lewis is looking to get more people out and active in the sport for which he excels at promoting.

“I became a member of the state board 10 years ago,” said Lewis, who was elected President at the annual state meeting in Mt. Pleasant on June 9.“You start off as a zone director by getting elected from your zone. I was zone 12 director for eight or nine years, then became second vice president for a year, first vice president for a year and now my year for president is coming.”

Over the next 12 months Lewis said he will be attending 40 to 50 functions and speaking about a broad array of subjects that pertain to the betterment of the sport.

Unlike past presidents he’s also bringing a theme into his presidency.

“I’m looking forward to representing the state and getting out there and talking to various groups,” he said.“I want to put a theme to my presidency and my theme is ‘bring a friend back to bowling.’ Over the years there’s been between a five and seven-percent decline in enrollment every year. Last year nationally we finally had a very slight increase with the youth. One of the things I want to see is bowling get better and bigger. Everybody knows somebody who has quit bowling and the people I’m talking to are involved so those aren’t the ones I’m after. I want them to get the people they’re acquainted with back in it. I’m also looking forward to having this presidency as the pinnacle of my state bowling experience.”

Mt. Pleasant’s Ivan Carroll served as the president of this same organization back in 1970 and was the secretary/treasurer of the Mt. Pleasant Men’s bowling association for 40 years through 1980.

Lewis took over for Carroll in 1980 and remains the current association manager for the MPUSBC.

“I’ve really only held one office, it was called secretary/treasurer when I first started and now it’s called association manager,” he added.“I took over in 1980 and it’s changed quite a bit since then. When I took over it was the Mt. Pleasant Men’s bowling association. Then it changed to MPUSBCBA. In 2009 it merged with the ladies and the youth in Mt. Pleasant so we became the MPUSBC.”

Lewis, who is also active on some state bowling committees, has also had a summer to remember on the lanes as he and teammate Jim Ham showed well at the Michigan State Senior tournament in Flint on May 8-19.

In Class C, for ages 60 to 64, he finished first in all events with a total of 1,578 and earned himself a spot at the National Seniors Championships in Reno, Nev., next summer.

He also finished second in singles with a 799 and partnered with Ham to place second in doubles with a 1,528. Some four days prior to competing in this event Lewis took a lesson and it worked out beautifully.

“I had just finished bowling at nationals in Reno (Nev.) and I spent an hour with a coach there as part of a VIP package that I had purchased,” said Lewis. “I’ve bowled a long time and I knew there were some things I wanted to change. So we started talking and I asked him after I had warmed up, ‘what would you change with my game?’ He said, ‘what wouldn’t I change?’

“We talked and did some video stuff. He then asked me ‘and you’re bringing antiquated equipment to the national tournament?’ I have three bowling balls and he told me ‘you’re three or four balls short of an arsenal and this one needs to be sanded,’ and he keeps going on and on. So we get through about a half hour of this and I ask him ‘what can you change about my game?’ He told me he’s been known to work miracles. So we worked on some things the last little bit and at the end of it he said ‘I didn’t think it was going to be possible, but I got you throwing the ball just like you should.’ I incorporated all his ideas and the first time I put it into practice was at the state senior’s tournament four days later.”